Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean

Latin America & Caribbean: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 4.1% in 2019. ▼ Falling

Latest (2019)
4.1%
Change on year
down 3.1%
Rank
31st
of 43 groups
All-time high
15.2%
in 1970
All-time low
3.2%
in 2009
Years of data
50
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970–2019

2.557.51012.515197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Latin America & Caribbean recorded 4.1% for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in 2019.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.1% on the previous year and up 27.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 15.2% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 3.2%, in 2009.

Latin America & Caribbean ranks 31st of 43 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 50 years of available data.

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%) in Latin America & Caribbean, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 15.2%
1971 15.0% -0.9%
1972 15.0% -0.6%
1973 14.0% -6.2%
1974 14.3% +2.2%
1975 14.0% -2.3%
1976 12.9% -8.0%
1977 12.3% -4.8%
1978 12.0% -2.5%
1979 11.1% -7.1%
1980 10.9% -2.2%
1981 10.1% -7.2%
1982 10.0% -0.7%
1983 10.0% -0.7%
1984 10.1% +1.4%
1985 9.9% -2.3%
1986 9.6% -2.4%
1987 9.6% -0.4%
1988 9.9% +3.1%
1989 11.1% +12.7%
1990 10.4% -6.8%
1991 10.1% -2.5%
1992 9.8% -3.4%
1993 9.7% -0.9%
1994 10.2% +5.4%
1995 10.1% -0.8%
1996 9.7% -4.3%
1997 10.0% +3.1%
1998 8.0% -20.1%
1999 7.0% -12.3%
2000 6.4% -8.2%
2001 6.4% -0.8%
2002 6.3% -0.7%
2003 5.5% -12.5%
2004 5.0% -9.3%
2005 4.3% -14.0%
2006 3.9% -9.0%
2007 4.0% +2.0%
2008 3.3% -16.9%
2009 3.2% -4.3%
2010 3.6% +11.5%
2011 4.0% +13.1%
2012 4.5% +11.9%
2013 3.7% -17.4%
2014 4.0% +7.3%
2015 4.2% +4.4%
2016 4.2% +0.3%
2017 4.5% +7.9%
2018 4.2% -6.7%
2019 4.1% -3.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 13.6% 11.1% 15.2% 10
1980s 10.1% 9.6% 11.1% 10
1990s 9.5% 7.0% 10.4% 10
2000s 4.8% 3.2% 6.4% 10
2010s 4.1% 3.6% 4.5% 10

Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean

  1. 28 Cayman Islands 13.5% compare
  2. 29 Burundi 13.3% compare
  3. 30 Bulgaria 13.3% compare
  4. 31 Panama 12.9% compare
  5. 32 Eswatini 12.5% compare
  6. 33 British Virgin Islands 12.5% compare
  7. 34 Paraguay 12.1% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for Latin America & Caribbean

All data for Latin America & Caribbean →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean?
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean was 4.1% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The highest recorded value was 15.2% in 1970.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
The lowest recorded value was 3.2% in 2009.
How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 31st out of 43 groups with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
Over the last ten years it is up 27.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Latin America & Caribbean data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Latin America & Caribbean. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 16 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age-2/latin-america-and-caribbean/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
191 places, 4,340 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Proportion of children and adolescents in the official age range for primary and lower secondary education who are not enrolled in primary or lower secondary education. To calculate the indicator, the number of students of the official age for primary and lower secondary education enrolled in primary or lower secondary education is subtracted from the total population of primary and lower secondary education. The result is expressed as a percentage of the population of the official age for primary and lower secondary education. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/